How to Reset

Ctr + Alt + Del for your brain

Friends!

You may have noticed posting has been light over here for a week or two. That’s because I FINISHED MY BOOK! I also , <preens>, hit my deadline, though it was a mad dash to the finish. Three months ago I would have said of course I will have no problem meeting this deadline and then, well, I used every minute I had. Could I have asked for more time? Absolutely, 1000% I could have. But I also had a lot of other things to do, so I needed it to be off my plate. There are some things I absolutely know my editor will come back to me with, for example, the front chapters are twice as long as the back chapters, lol, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

Sooooooooo, now what? The first thing I did after turning in my book was sleep. Then I freaked out about how behind I was on everything else and dove back into my other tasks and responsibilities. Oh, and I ordered groceries and cleaned my office and did laundry and made a meal for the first time in two weeks. That’s all fine and now feels under control. This is a necessary reset of my regular life.

But creatively, what’s next?

Can you believe it but I actually want to write? I know, I’m writing right now and I write all the time, but I would love to write something that is not this newsletter or its book, lol. Like that novel I was working on last year. I can go back to that! I was thinking this morning that I could resume my mornings at the coffee shop twice a week and peek back in on that novel. What a breath of fresh air that would be.

That’s what I need to do for the hard reset of my brain after completing a big project. Something fun, something non-deadline driven, something for me. My book edits will come soon enough, and I have to do other things like book my author photos and fill in my Author Questionnaire for the publisher. But what I’m not going to do is quit writing. I’ve built up strength in this muscle and I still want to flex it. For now I have the freedom to do it untethered from a deadline. Even though the race is over, I’m still going to go for a jog.

You might need a longer rest period after a big project. You might need to flush out your brain with a TV binge or reading binge or staring at the wall binge. You might need to go paint a bunch of Warhammer figurines and let your keyboard gather some dust before you start typing again. That’s ok! There isn’t a right away to do it. You get to hit ctrl + alt + del however and whenever you feel like it.

We’ll be returning to regular programming this week. Thank you for your patience and ROBUST discussion about full-time writing last week! I loved all your thoughts in the comments. Keep them coming! And if you need a reset read, please check out Erin Hahn’s latest YA novel EVEN IF IT BREAKS YOUR HEART out today from Wednesday Books. Look how GORGEOUS this cover is!!!!! And whew, this book, it gets your right in the feels. Buy it now! Happy pub day, Erin!

XOXOX,

Kate